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Camping cots

boxerkuh

New member
Greetings, fact is that I am not getting any younger. I am in the process of upgrading my camping equipment and would like to solicite some feedback.

I am considering getting a cot. I have never slept on one, but I am tired of slipping off the thermarest. I will upgrade my sleeping bag to a big agnes type to slide the pad right into it. Getting off the ground, appeals to me, might even improve comfort. So, I have narrowed my choices to:

1. Regular Go Kot for $115.00 or
2. Luxury Lite Cot for $220.00

What are the pros and cons? Experience tells me that you get what you pay for... so that would make it the Luxury Lite Cot, but $220.00? Really? Is it worth it? Please let me know your thoughts....

P.S. I go camping maybe 2 or 3 times a year.
 
I have a Luxury Lite cot and like it a lot. I have never seen or used a Go Kot so I can't compare how they are in use. The Luxury Lite cot is lighter (about two pounds versus six) and packs smaller. It is also a bit narrower. I would not mind having the extra two inches the Go Kot provides.

I weigh about 220 and am 5'11" and the Luxury Lite cot supports me well. It is much more comfortable than my "thickest they make" self inflating air mattress. I will probably try Luxury Lite's mattress pad this year. So far I have used mine with no additional pad.
 
BA works:)

I've had my Big Agnes system for about three+ years now. The slide in place mattress works quite nice with one drawback! The air matresses they sell are terrible(long time) to "inflate", but are comfy once done so. I just recently bought a REI 3.5" self inflator mattress with 2 valves for quick inflate/deflate, very much like the ThermaRest products but sooooo much thicker. This still slides into my BA Bag, I'm happy. The 2 valve system is light years BETTER. It still packs into a fair package for my bike's Jesse Bags lids strapon. Cots! I have not tried, but I MAY well be there too, as my age and my shoulders have begun hurting as I sleep on the ground. Hmmmm? My new 3.5REI mattress is my lastest effort and eliminates my having to carry a air pump for the BA mattress, one less packed device on a bike:). I wonder IF the cot(s) may help my shoulders, as I am a "side sleeper"? Randy
 
Luxury Lite Cot

+1 on the Luxury Lite Cot. I started out with a Byers of Maine Trilite Cot and used it for a few years. The biggest drawback is that it is kind of bulky and weighs more than I would like. It is also become less stable with age. The Luxury Lite is much more compact but requires a more involved set up, but it is very light and seems very stable to me. I got the extra tubes for my Luxury Lite Cot and it is pretty stable and packs small and weight 3-4 lbs. I use a Thermarest Neo Air on mine and it is great.
Thermarest Neo Air packs down to the size of a nalgene bottle and it weighs under a pound. It's true you have to blow this mattress up which is a bit of a chore, but you can also control the comfort level which is a big plus. I weigh about 260 Lbs and this is working for me.

One trick I learned from the Boy Scouts about how to stop sliding on an air mattress: buy one of those carpet runners that they put underneath throw rugs so that when people step on them they don't slip and fall. I bought a thin pad for $4 at a carpet store that goes down the length of my air mattress and I put it on top of the air mattress and then my sleeping bag on top of that..........you don't slide at all. Pretty clever guys those Boy Scouts.

Don
 
I wonder IF the cot(s) may help my shoulders, as I am a "side sleeper"? Randy

I found the cots more comfortable for just that reason. I have had injuries to both arms/shoulders over the years and air mattresses just don't work for me anymore. The Luxury light is a bit narrow for side sleeping and I think a mattress or pad over the cot would help prevent the side rails from being annoying.
 
I love my Go Kot

but i would agree that it's not the smallest thing to pack.... but i get a good night sleep, and that is all that i care about.
 
I use a Big Agnes bag with slip-in Big Agnes pad, on a Go-Kot. I'm 5'7", 200+ lb. Very happy with the combination.

Downsides with the Go-Kot:

Packs long -- will just fit into a largest-size H2W rolltop bag. Alternative is to wrap it in a trash bag to keep it dry, and secure the bag (to keep it from flapping) and then secure the cot to the bike.

Long length when deployed can make the cot a tight fit in a tent -- more if the tent walls are highly sloped; won't fit in most all one-man tents.

Other than those two issues (neither a problem for me), I'm quite happy with the Go-Kot.
 
I haven't tried the Luxury Lite but I have the Go-Kot and really like it - I sleep on my sides and it's comfortable - no 'pinching' on either shoulder and the mesh 'bed' keeps me cool in hot weather. I agree that it doesn't pack down very small but as I've gotten older, I'm willing to look like a vagabond if I can get a good night's sleep!:snore
 
cots

I have both the go-kot and the luxury lite. At first, the luxury lites had legs that folded in but they fixed that. It is top quality. Downsize is that they take a little longer to take apaart and put in its bag but it is quite light.

The go-kot is half the price but still very good quality. It goes together quickly and is quickly put away. Downside is that it is longer to pack and weighs about 3 pounds more that the luxury liite. if you put the kot on top of the tent floor, you might want to take pieces if garden hose on the legs of the go-kot. If you put it under the tent floor, no problem. The luxury lite legs are lexan or a type of plastic. Hope this helps.
 
I am happy with my 59.00 dollar "Byer of Maine cot. It is about 6-8 inches off the ground and with a self inflatable on top I get a fairly good nights sleep.
 
One trick I learned from the Boy Scouts about how to stop sliding on an air mattress: buy one of those carpet runners that they put underneath throw rugs so that when people step on them they don't slip and fall. I bought a thin pad for $4 at a carpet store that goes down the length of my air mattress and I put it on top of the air mattress and then my sleeping bag on top of that..........you don't slide at all. Pretty clever guys those Boy Scouts.

Don

THANK YOU for the suggestion! :thumb

I hate throw rugs, so of course my wife has them all over.

I'm pretty sure that she won't miss a piece of the non-slip stuff... :whistle
 
You want a cot, I use an air mattress and blow it up with a 12v pump. It offers more comfort than a cot, as close to home as you'll get in a tent and gets you and your stuff up off the ground too.
 
cots

The luxury lite cot will not damagethe tent floor. As with the go-kot - I thread four inch pieces of garden hose over the sharp bends which are the legs. No problem. It really protects the floor. Some guys even put their cots under the tent floor. I've tried this and it works fine. I now put the cot directly on the tent floor. To me, it works the best.
 
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